A2 SociologySY3 feedback 2010

Principal Examiner Janis Griffiths

Statistical screening

• Purpose of screening

• Impact of screening on the distribution of grades and grade boundaries

January series

• Larger entry for SY 3

• Mostly first time candidates

• Many very good responses.

January series - Options

• Understanding Crime most popular option

• Few attempted Politics, but generally good

• Very few attempted Health and Disability

General observations

• Fewer rubric errors

• Better at time planning

• Misreading of questions apparent

• Misunderstanding of ‘how’ and ‘why’

• Tendency to lose the plot and revert to ‘all I know about ...’

January series SY3 Qu 1

• Some excellent answers with a range of different crimes

• Many focused on white collar and corporate crime

• Some wandered into long discussions of the validity and reliability of the BCS and lost their way

January series SY3 Qu 2

• Those who knew their theory did very well on this, but many did not

• Limited evaluation of Marxism per se.

• Tended to run through all theories and say at the end what they thought of Marxism

• Many wrongly attributed theorists

January series SY3 Qu 3

• Many wrote explanations of theories of the link between ethnicity and crime without considering the nature of that link in any way.

• Stephen Lawrence biographies appeared.

• Limited mention of White crime, Black on Black or of victimisation of ethnic minorities

January series SY3 Qu 4

• Those who knew what pressure groups do wrote very clear accounts.

• There was some confusion of pressure groups with political parties

January series SY3 Qu 5

• Again, understanding of Marxism was very weak in some cases.

• Limited reference to either ideology or power

• Often only linked to voting

• The choice of weaker candidates?

January series SY3 Qu 6

• Very well handled.

• Limited evidence from studies, but lots of examples of recent political activity and reference to different social groupings

• Choice of better candidates?

June series

• Larger entries for SY3 but weaker on whole. (Re-sit effect?)

• Larger entry than for previous series, so centres new to WJEC coming on board.

• More English centres attracted to specification

January series - Options

• Understanding Crime most popular option

• Fewer attempted Politics, but generally good

• Bigger entry for Health and Disability

Knowledge

• Some candidates were not able to think on their feet so answers are tangential to question.

• Some odd interpretations of theory were offered, especially for crime and deviance.

Structuring answers

• Some weaknesses in the organisation and planning of answers

– Not defining key terms– Limited deployment of paragraphs– Repetition – Limited use of evidence and AO 1– Dated studies

June series SY3 Qu 1

• Some excellent answers outlining the three ways crime data is collected – BCS, OCS and self-report

• Some wandered into long discussions of research methods and failed to address the question – missed the significance of the term data.

June series SY3 Qu 2

• Those who knew their theory did very well on this, but many did not and added long descriptions of other theories justified by a quick reference to Realisms.

• Limited evaluation of Realism (especially strengths) – tendency to describe and then leave evaluation as a final paragraph

June series SY3 Qu 3

• Polarisation of answers – some excellent, many weak.

• Feminism not understood.

• Many wrote ‘ Why do men commit crime?’

• Some uncritical accounts of the increasing violence of women

June series SY3 Qu 4

• Very few understood the notion of devolution or even decentralisation.

• Those who did, described it well and gained good marks

June series SY3 Qu 5

• Those who knew and understood pluralism did well.

• Tendency to leave evaluation to final paragraph

June series SY3 Qu 6

• Few takers

• Most knew the features of a democracy but there was little assessment or application of that knowledge to the UK

June series SY3 Qu 7

• Very well handled by those who knew and understood the notion of the sick role.

• The role of the doctor in allocating sick role was not always appreciated

January series SY3 Qu 8

• Very well handled by those who understood the debate.

• Choice of better candidates?

June series SY3 Qu 9

• This was very much the preferred choice.

• Wide range of answers of different standards

• Technical language used well.

• Limited reference to question of whether the medical profession is a threat to health.

Improving performance

• Learn key terms – these are the focus of questions

• Read the questions carefully, noting commands and debates.

• Choose the appropriate question – recognise that there is usually a theory/debate dichotomy.

• Don’t leave evaluations to the end of the essay

Special plea

• Computer written answers – many are very difficult to read (small cramped fonts etc)

• Please – double spacing and size 12 or 14 fonts. Serif fonts tend to be easier than sans-serif for extended writing.

For further information, please contact the subject officer at the WJEC

Joanna Lewis245 Western AvenueCardiffCF5 2YX

joanna.lewis@wjec.co.uk